Liam's Birthday

Our nephew Liam has officially turned one and to celebrate the occasion his parents threw a big party for him at Jungle Jim's Playground. This place was really neat and was like an amusement park tailored for toddlers. There were rotating swings, flying airplanes, and even a mini roller coaster. Liam, who clearly was having a blast, was a gracious host and made sure to mingle with all of his guests. He especially loved riding in the airplane with Grandma. Bryn was a little less thrilled and refused to go on the swings. She really didn't want to ride in the airplane either, but after I had banged my knee and bruised my shin to get in, there was no way she was escaping without at least taking a couple of laps around in the airplane. 

Hudson must have been feeling a bit more festive than Bryn. He was completely mesmerized by all the bells, whistles, and seizure-inducing flashing lights. He was so preoccupied with the chaos surrounding him that it was hard to get him to look at the camera. But then again, maybe Hudson was just checking out all the babes. Allegedly, the best part about going to an amusement park is going on rides with all the new girls you meet. I didn't grow up around Lagoon, but Nate and all his friends swear this is true. I will have to take their word on it.

Eventually, Nate got tired of trying to convince Brynlee to go on the rides and decided to play a few games instead. She had a great time playing skee ball and, unfortunately for Hudson, got pretty good at Whack-A-Mole. When all was said and done, she had enough tickets to redeem them for a couple of suckers. Five dollars in tokens only generated enough tickets for a couple of suckers. That's highway robbery if you ask me. 

And despite the picture below, Liam really did have a great time. He couldn't wait to dig into his own individual cake and was quite proficient at shoveling his cake into his mouth. And then somebody probably made some remark about him not having good manners and using a fork. Poor Liam must have taken offense to this and was then too self conscious to eat anymore.

Following the cake, Liam opened his gifts. He was so excited with each present that he really didn't want to let go of it and move onto the next one. Needless to say, Neal and Erin won't have to buy him any new toys for Christmas. Or they could just steal a page from our play book and re-wrap some of the gifts. Nate and I may have gone a little overboard with Christmas last year and ended up taking some of her presents back and giving them to Bryn a few months later from her birthday. Bryn never even knew the difference. But given her memory these days, I no longer think that is an option.

And finally, yes it is true. Sometimes Hudson has to support a hat to hide a little male pattern baldness. Don't judge. He pulls it off quite well.